


We Can't Be Great at Everything: Dealing with Postpartum and Planning a First Birthday

by elizabethvaughan



Series: Braindead Alternate Universe (From Season Two on) [10]
Category: BrainDead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Postpartum Depression, That also explains why its short, but it was a birthday gift, its sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 23:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10684935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethvaughan/pseuds/elizabethvaughan
Summary: When they first got back home from the hospital, after the complications and tears, Gareth was ecstatic. He had a beautiful baby girl, an amazing wife whose strength got her through the terrible event that occurred, and overall, was very happy with his life. He thought Laurel felt the same.-Set After Labor and Delivery (Part 7)





	We Can't Be Great at Everything: Dealing with Postpartum and Planning a First Birthday

“Oh sweetie, we can’t wait to see you tomorrow! We’ve been waiting all week.” Nora told Gareth, her enthusiasm practically radiating out of the phone.   
"Let’s be honest here dear,” Sam started, “All you’ve been talking about is our gran-” He was cut off by a thud and muffled speech as Gareth laughed from the other end of the line.   
“If it helps Mom, she’s excited to see you too. But speaking of, someone needs to be put to bed. I have to go.” Gareth said, attempting to leave the conversation he’d been in for 20 minutes.  
“But son, why don’t you let Lau-” Sam started, before being cut off again.  
“Bye guys,” Gareth said, finally hanging up. He sighed, and began to walk towards the living room where Laurel and their daughter were waiting for him. He heard Charlotte wailing, clearly exhausted after the day, but when he got to the main hallway, she had stopped. He got to the doorway and saw Laurel softly reading to her. He decided to stop and watch for a few moments. Things were better now than they had been at first.  
When they first got back home from the hospital, after the complications and tears, Gareth was ecstatic. He had a beautiful baby girl, an amazing wife whose strength got her through the terrible event that occurred, and overall, was very happy with his life. He thought Laurel felt the same.  
It became more evident after a few months. He’d been so caught up in his own bubble he hadn’t noticed how unhappy she was. He hadn’t noticed how the baby and she hadn’t bonded, how she never had the appetite she had before she was pregnant, how she wasn’t sleeping at night, more so than other new parents. Eventually, he caught on, after Laurel almost fainted after handing him Charlotte one afternoon.   
He had insisted they go to the hospital to get her help. When the doctors said she had postpartum depression, everything clicked into place, and he felt awful. How had he been so absorbed in himself that he didn’t even realize his own wife was hiding her pain. He had started crying, silently, when she admitted to the doctor she was having suicidal thoughts. After they picked up her prescription and drove home quietly, aside from Charlotte’s occasional cooes, he had stopped her. They were inside and had put Charlotte to bed, so he walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms. The pair stayed embraced for a good chunk of time, with him continuously apologizing to her for not realizing sooner. Things started to get better.   
Since she began taking her pills, Laurel was becoming closer to Char than she had previously been. And in turn, every day their baby was bonding more with her mother. Laurel also began to open up about how she was feeling towards him. After she spoke with his mother and heard about how she had a similar experience, she realized how important it was she shared how she truly felt with him.   
Sam never understood why Nora had a hard time with Gareth and Cathy. He’d just been taught that women had their babies and were happy and nurturing. He never understood why Laurel couldn’t bond with Charlotte either, and he still doesn’t understand why she may still have a hard time around her daughter.  
But now, watching Laurel and Charlotte together, it made his heart want to explode. They were finally becoming the loving family he had first envisioned.  
Charlotte, now dozing off slowly, was silent as her mother finished reading, and when he walked into the living room, Laurel looked up and smiled.   
“Hey, we’ll put her in bed, and then we’ll talk,” Laurel said quietly, careful not to disturb the baby as she got up. The three walked towards the nursery in peaceful silence, until finally, the couple placed the infant in her bed.  
Gareth slowly walked behind Laurel, wrapping his arms around her in the process. “You know, you’re a really great mom, Laur.” He whispered quietly to her.   
“Why? I’m not exactly the picture of success when it comes to motherhood. I know that, you know that, your parents sure as hell know-” She stopped when he turned her around to face him, never letting go of her. She looked him in the eyes and sighed. He looked so loving and happy, she wasn’t going to continue her thought about what his parents, well his dad, had to say about her parenting. In fact, she realized, it didn’t matter what others thought of her. As long as her daughter looked to her for care, she knew she was going to do her best to provide it. They would do it together, and the doubt of others didn’t really matter as long as they had that faith in each other. “You know, I still can’t believe she’s turning one tomorrow. It feels like it’s been so much longer.”   
Gareth chuckled and retorted “Really? I feel like it’s going by too fast. Next thing you know she’ll be driving.” Laurel rolled her eyes.   
“She can barely walk towards one of us from the other, you need to slow down your timeline of expectations.” She replied, her normal sarcasm coming into play.  
“Well at least we have plenty more years to come being the best parents she’ll ever have.”  
“The only parents she’ll ever have. It’s not like she chose us Gar.”  
“I like to think she did. Why else do you think she enjoys space so much?” Gareth told her, laughing at his own joke. Meanwhile, Laurel appeared somewhat shocked.  
“Oh my god, I don’t think I ever put two and two together until now. Do you really think that she-”.  
“I’d say the chances of her being conceived in the planetarium is higher than the majority of babies in DC.”   
“She can never know,” Laurel said with a straight face. The two just continued to laugh quietly, careful not to wake their daughter. The two detached from each other, and slowly made their way towards the living room to watch a movie. Deciding on a comedy, the pair sat down and got halfway through before realizing the worst possible thing had happened the day before their daughter’s first birthday.  
“We forgot the cake didn’t we,” Laurel said cautiously.  
“Yep,” Gareth answered.  
“Well, we can’t be great at everything.”


End file.
